Buying a phone is not exactly a choice.
this post was submitted on 01 May 2026
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The fucked up thing with phones is the locked boot loaders. Locked boot loaders should not exist because this seriously restricts the driver and OS development.
Hoping that Graphene Motorola partnership ends up making Graphene some really well supported target for bank/finance apps for those that make that a part of their required features for a phone. I can live with Firefox. Many seemingly can't
My latest phone is a Fairphone 6 with e/OS preinstalled, so it came degoogled and easily repairable out of the box. I intend to keep it for at least a decade. I cant imagine a feature I would be willing to upgrade for, so I'll probably keep it longer than that.
it was never your phone to begin with.
I'm just gonna switch to linux for my next phone. It's past time.
I did NOT buy an Android phone for anything Google, what they have said or anything else. I have one because I got a good deal and I can remove everything Google about it. And this deal gives me a new phone biennially while keeping the same monthly price which means I can give my previous phone to the family member of friend who is most in need of one and would be most affected economically by having to buy one themselves. I'd easily choose and iPhone over an Android one if they were similarly locked, I think Google (Alphabet) is the more evil of the two, while both are of course not good at all. That's not the case though, yet at least.
GrapheneOS would be great, if it would just support 1000x the hardware it does now. With the extremely limited hardware it does support it's practically as good as useless for the vast majority of Android users
I'd switch tomorrow, would if I could
Most hardware doesn't support the fundamental security requirements of GrapheneOS, so that will never happen.
Look into things like /e/OS or Nothing Phone on the Android side, and the various Linux options (Jellyfish OS is, I think, the most advanced).
I consider myself pretty computer savvy but phones have always pissed me off. I got a Galaxy S22 Ultra because I wanted stylus and high refresh rate, but I consistently regret giving Samsung my business.
I have the SM-S908U1, what are realistically my best options here? I can't really afford an upgrade right now.
Fully same page. I got a used Z fold cuz I love the design, but now I guess I'm just never updating again until I have time to learn how to install my own OS on it 😵
You should wait for the GrapheneOS Motorola phones next year. The Moto Signature looks like an excellent phone so something like that with GrapheneOS would be the phone of 2027.
Unfortunately, for the specs and special stylus integration feature, Samsung has cornered the market. You can try any other phone and purchase a simple stylus that is just a rubber tip on a plastic stick, but it won't have the pressure features and quick action button that the S-pen has.
Apple pencil pro on an iPad pro is the only device with commensurate features.
Moto G and the TCL phone are both low buold quality and mid spec devices compared to the Samsung S Ultras
Root n ROM I guess
Please consider donating to PostmarketOS to build up a pure mobile Linux alternative that is completely free of Google's influence. It's the best option we have.
GrapheneOS doesn't give a fuck
Really glad I decided to switch to GrapheneOS. My next phone will be a Motorola for sure.
I would be so happy if the phone they release with graphene is the Razr, honestly might start work on it myself.
motorola makes great phone. I remember my 1st Android phone, after years on iOS, was the Moto Z Play. That thing can last a week with light usage, or 3 days with medium usage on a single charge. Also remember those moto mods? Motorola had like speaker mod and even a mini projector that you can just snap on the phone.
They made better phones before Google bought them so they could strip all their patents before dumping the remaining husk on Lenovo for 15% of its previous value.
So what do we do when they start making it harder and harder to install graphene?
Getting a motorola cause they explicitly will be supporting GrapheneOS.
But all of that is just a stepping stone. As soon as I deem linux phones to be usable as a daily driver for me, I won't look back.
We still don't know anything about the phones' specifications, prices.
Ironic that graphene is developed most for pixel phones
Not really. They develop for Pixel because those devices have the most secure hardware available for developing a modified Android OS.
If the rest-of-the-world can get its head out of its ass, a fork of AOSP with an open governance and a commitment to opensource and open platform, so that every one benefits from it. You wouldn't need that much from each country to get more resources on that AOSP-bis than Google will ever be able to pour on its homebrew version.
You make a rule that public service can only buy devices using AOSP-bis based systems (or even better: states choose their own AOSP distros) and quickly, Google has no choice but to follow your version, not the other way around.
I support spreading this message, and fuck Google, but...what's actually happening is they are making harder to install apps, not removing the ability to do so.
After massive pushback. Their original plan was basically full control. It still is, but they'll allow you to install something if you ask nicely first.
The other issue is the timing. They can claim this is for security all they want, but it was announced suspiciously close to the courts ruling that Google needed to open up their ecosystem to other app stores. This is a blatant attempt to keep control of the app ecosystem by forcing devs to go through Google regardless of where they intend to release.
They can claim this is for security all they want, but it was announced suspiciously close to the courts ruling that Google needed to open up their ecosystem to other app stores.
The courts ruled that users need to be able to install competing app stores without any warning, which is different from how it works today. Obviously allowing installation without any warning would be a boon to malware authors, so they added a way for third party app developers (including app store app developers) to verify themselves and distribute apps outside the Play Store without a warning on installation. Now Epic can verify with Google and distribute its app on its own website without needing to tell the user how to dismiss a scary warning, and the same is true for Safeway and Proton and other developers that might want to self distribute. On top of that, now GrapheneOS can implement its own verification system using the same OS-level APIs. Maybe app authors can distribute apps themselves for users of GrapheneOS by registering their repo with a verification system that runs an automated security audit on the repo and ensures reproducible builds.
Now that there is a way to distribute apps safely outside the system app store, that probably prompted them to look at what was causing malware problems with the current unverified app installation flow, and they came up with that system. Saying it's some massive conspiracy won't force them to change their minds, especially since there aren't enough users who care to make a dent in their revenue. Proposing a less onerous way to stop malware and bringing that in front of a judge on behalf of the app developers who are harmed will.
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Google is "only" locking you out of using your phone for 24 hours...
For extra security, let's make it a week. Let's make it a month. Let's make it a year.
That's what they're doing *so far. * I very strongly doubt this is the last time the deal is altered.
Ok? Its still my phone, my hardware, and now I have to wait 24 hours before I can install wahtever I want on the phone that I goddamn paid for with my own goddamn money.
Also, let's not pretend as if they not eventually going to go back to their original plan once the initial backlash dies down and people get used to the new norm.
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My tech brothers, how easy is it to install graphene on my pixel 7? Will my banking app (Barclays, UK) still work? Tia
super easy and i never had a app not work instantly including bank stuff
Barclays: This app only runs in the owner profile and secure app spawning may have to be disabled
https://privsec.dev/posts/android/banking-applications-compatibility-with-grapheneos/
The installation is super easy - barely an inconvinience. However you need to set up everything on your phone manually - no easy transfer from stock Android afaik.
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If you have location and mobile data on they're generally less likely to fuss if you do ever have an issue.
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